Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Global Village

The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Global Village, Dingle, Co Kerry

Everything about Martin Bealin and Nuala Cassidy’s long-established restaurant in Dingle Town is a delight, especially the local provenance and seasonality which is its raison d'etre, and any food lover attending the Dingle Food Festival (Thu 4th - Sun 7th October 2012) should have a visit here high on the list of treats to look forward to over what is sure to be a very pleasurable weekend.

Global Village is a model of sustainability and, ever since opening in 1997, has always showcased the best of local foods. A blackboard proclaims the daily specials, notably local fish and seafood, but also names the day’s beef and lamb suppliers and the vegetables harvested from their own bio-dynamic garden out at Ventry.

The sourcing list on the menu is more extensive (see below), and it’s interesting to see Dingle Farmhouse Milk given full credit alongside the meats and fish, and famous speciality products like Ashes black and white puddings, from nearby Annascaul.

Fish lovers will be thrilled by the local seafood; on any one day the range could include scallops, crab, lobster, Glenbeigh mussels, monkfish, hake, plaice and lemon sole - and it’s good to see the humble mackerel given equal billing. Yet the meats carry weight too and, thanks to the exceptional respect accorded to vegetables here, vegetarians also fare particularly well – and, smaller items, such as the delicious yeast breads, also tell their own story of skill and attention to detail in the kitchen.

Highlights showcasing superb local produce include a number of ‘duo’ and ‘trio’ dishes created around a single ingredient – a memorable Trio of Crab starter, for example, beautifully demonstrates the versatility (and deliciousness) of crab.

Among the mains, inexpensive ingredients carry equal weight alongside the traditional treats such as lobster, and it is good to see a plentiful fish in season given their due: a dish such as panfried mackerel fillets and garlic crab toes with Ashes white pudding is a delight, for example, served with pretty pea purée, saffron sauce and a crisp flesh-flavoured salad.

Yet, despite the weighting in favour of fish, local meats are also highly regarded and the highlight of a meal here could well be a wonderful roast rack of Kerry lamb with sautéed liver, perfectly accompanied by a puy lentil and chorizo casserole, boulangère potatoes and a rosemary jus. The stand-out lamb dish of the year to date for the Guide, the best quality meat is allowed to show its form and the imaginative accompaniments are perfectly weighted to complement the quite assertive lamb.

Seriously delicious desserts follow the same seasonal philosophy, and the Irish Farmhouse Cheese selection is supplied by Maja Binder’s Little Cheese Shop in the town; including her own Dingle Peninsula Cheese of course, the choices are laid out in loving detail…

SAMPLE MENUS

Where Our Food Comes From......

• Lobster and Crab....Richard Sheehy, Ventry
• Oysters and Mussels...Glenbeigh Shellfish
• All other Fish and Prawns, landed by The Teresa Mae, skipper Labhras Courtney, or sourced locally by O'Cathain lasc Teo
• Vegetables - Grown chemically free in our own gardens in Ventry, using biodynamic principles, or soureed from Kingdom Fresh, Dingle
• Eggs...Lispole free range eggs
• Cheese… we use only Irish cheeses most of which are sourced from "The Little Cheese Shop" here in Dingle including Maja's own Dingle Peninsula cheese
• Milk...Dingle Farmhouse Milk, Baile na nGall
• Black and white pudding ... Ashes of Annascaul
• Beef and Lamb ...sourced and butchered by John and Micheal Ashe of
Annascaul. We know exactly which farm your meat came from this evening.
Take a look at our blackboard.

Smoked Gubbeen: (Cork) Semi-hard cheese with waxed black rind made from pasteurised cow's milk from own herd
Buttery and mild flavour with a very subtle smoky touch on the finish, slowly smoked with oak

“Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and encourages chefs to provide this information on their menus. The programme supports both large and smaller artisan suppliers, encouraging both Irish diners and visitors from abroad to support restaurants that are in turn supporting their suppliers.

Here at Georgina Campbell Guides we have always been avid supporters of the ‘eat local’ concept, and we always enjoy reading menus that have a real sense of place. The dining experience is greatly enriched by knowing that the food on your plate is inspired by the produce and traditions of the area, and sourced nearby – and we would love to see more chefs sharing that precious information with their guests.

If you are a visitor to the area, learning a little about local food and the people who produce it adds a special extra dimension to the visit – and, for residents, it reinforces a natural pride in the good things of their locality and makes a meal all the more enjoyable.

So, we are delighted by the high standard of menus that continue to be submitted for our ' “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month Competition', menus that really speak of the best of Irish foods – and the dedication of both the people who make them, and the chefs who select them to create wonderful dishes with real Irish flavour for our enjoyment.

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